Piano Keys
by LittleBlueNayru
Summary: ONESHOT. What if Nicol had somehow survived the explosion of the Blitz? Just a cute little friendship thing that I HAD to write. Enjoy!


Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED.

Wow, for the first time in ages I wrote something for Gundam SEED...

Rarely, rarely, have I seen a "Nicol Survives" spinoff story. Nicol is extremely underappreciated! Now, since I am not up to doing an entire story about how Gundam SEED and Destiny would have been affected had Nicol survived, I wrote this cute oneshot. If you want to be a genius and write a story about it, knock yourself out. But it better be a_wesome_, so don't disappoint me if you do.

* * *

Piano Keys

"Athrun, get out!"

Both Athrun and Kira heard Nicol's yell and glanced to the side as the Blitz dropped its mirage colloid and charged the Strike, aiming one of its exploding rods for the Strike's chest.

Reflexively, Kira swung his sword and hit the Blitz's cockpit, slicing through the metal easily.

A heavy, oppressive silence rang throughout the battlefield, little sparks sputtering quietly, menacing and angry as the Blitz froze. Unearthly electric screams filled the air as the four other pilots stared in horror.

Already sliced open at the stomach at impact, Nicol looked up into his video link weakly. In a pained, hoarse voice, he choked out, "Athrun... run!"

Then the blood covered his face and cracking glass covered the blood, and in a flash of sickening light, the Blitz exploded.

"NICOL!!"

* * *

Four pilots could only gape at the smoldering wreckage. But the shock couldn't freeze them forever.

Athrun, regaining his senses, turned a malicious glare on the Strike.

"You did this! YOU'LL PAY, STRIKE!!"

"Athrun!"

Duel and Buster leaped into the air, firing mercilessly on the Strike. At Natarle's command, Kira began jumping away. As the Archangel covered him with a barrage of gunfire, the Duel, Buster, and Blitz could only watch helplessly as the murderer got away.

"_Later_," Yzak hissed, and the three survivors hopped away, broken and wounded.

Kira was still flying, but as the three disappeared, he descended again, Athrun's shout ringing in his ears.

_"Nicol!!"_

It wasn't right...wasn't right...

"Ensign Yamato!"

Natarle's words landed on deaf ears. With infinite care, Kira picked up the ruins of the cockpit, cradled them gently to the Strike, and flew up, like a twisted angel carrying its prey to rest.

* * *

Kira didn't hear the praise heaped upon him as he climbed out of the Strike. He didn't answer the questions about the remains of the Blitz. And he didn't pay any attention to the shouts of the crew members as he pulled a broken body from the wreckage and dashed off the the infirmary with a heap many shade of red in his arms.

To say the doctor was surprised would be an understatement. But as soon as Kira laid the soldier on an empty bed, he stood up from his desk and went over to treat him. The boy was miraculously clinging to life by a hair. Within seconds, a team of nurses was helping him give first aid as fast as they could, Kira hovering along the edge of the room with darkened eyes, remembering Athrun's yell.

_"NICOL!!!"_

Eventually, the pilot was stripped to a pair of bloody shorts; he lay on a hospital bed deathly still, wounds dressed, hooked up to too many tubes to count, breathing oxygen softly through a mask, heartbeat weak but steady. As the adrenaline in the room subsided and the nurses went back to normal business, Kira approached the doctor. "How is he?" Kira asked, almost desperately.

The doctor gave him a kind look. "His condition is very serious, of course, but there's a good chance he'll live."

"Good," said Kira, and without another word left the infirmary.

* * *

Naturally, the next day was chaos, what with Athrun's fury, Tolle's death, the self-destruction of the Aegis, and Kira's near-death experience. Kira knew it would be impossible to reason with Athrun, and did not try to. So naturally, the Blitz's pilot was the furthest thing from Kira's mind until about a week later, after Freedom was docked in the Archangel and a much-changed pilot passed the infirmary door.

* * *

The next day, Kira made it a point to visit the Blitz's pilot, whom he had been told had woken up only the day before the Alaska attack. Wisely, no one had mentioned the Blitz's pilot to the Buster's in the POW bay, nor the Buster to the Blitz. But now, Kira decided to do the latter.

The door automatically slid open for him, and the doctor looked up from his desk. "Oh! It's you again!" he said, smiling.

Kira managed a small smile back, but the gravity of the situation made it impossible to be light-hearted. "Yeah, I'm back," he said, shrugging a shoulder sheepishly.

The patient, who had been lying in bed staring up at the ceiling, brought his head up, hearing a new voice.

He had green hair and light brown eyes and a thin, tall, muscular frame. He stared at Kira, and Kira stared back, before walking over and taking a seat in the chair by the hospital bed.

"Haven't seen you before," the soldier said, cheerfully but in a reserved fashion, as if on guard. "my name's Nicol, Nicol Amalfi."

"I'm Kira Yamato," Kira replied. "But I already knew your name. Your first name, at least."

"Oh, did you hear someone else say it? Some guy named Sai came by, and a girl named Miriallia. Did they say anything about me?" The pilot perked up with curiosity.

"I haven't been here for the past week," Kira said.

"Huh? But we haven't been anywhere for you to have been picked up..."

"That would be because I was getting a new mobile suit," Kira said.

Nicol's eyes widened. "Mobile suit? New?"

Kira shut his eyes and turned away. "I used to pilot the Strike."

"What?!" Kira opened his eyes to a frowning Nicol. "So you were the one who gave Yzak his scar! And... that was you at the fence?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah. I also happen to be good friends with Athrun Zala. We were inseparable during our childhood."

"So that's why he was so weird in the beginning..." Nicol said, lost in thought. "But, why did you fight him then? They probably think I'm dead!"

"I couldn't just leave you there to die. I heard Athrun yell your name... I've never heard him hurt so much..." Kira said, remorsefully. "When ZAFT attacked Heliopolis, I was still a civilian. But then I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and...well, the rest is history. I never wanted to fight. Still don't."

"Yeah. Neither do I," Nicol said softly. "I only thought I should do my part after Junius Seven. And to make my father proud."

"I got in the Strike to protect my friends," Kira said. "By the way, the Buster's pilot...?"

"Dearka," Nicol prompted.

"Dearka... is a POW on this ship."

"What?!" Nicol almost shouted.

"In the attack right after I destroyed Blitz, Athrun destroyed the Strike and the Buster got damaged and down, so Dearka surrendered," Kira explained.

"Does he know I'm here?!" Nicol asked intently.

Kira shook his head. "No one knows you're alive. Athrun killed a friend of mine in battle, but as far as ZAFT goes, you were killed in action.

Nicol seemed to dull, and fell back into his bed. "So, I have no life anymore... nowhere to go to after everything's done..."

Kira blinked as he took in the truth of Nicol's words. "Don't worry about it, Nicol," Kira said, addressing him by name for the first time. "After we end this war, you can stay with us!"

Nicol smiled weakly. "I'd like that..." he murmured, before drifting off into sleep.

* * *

Kira knew it would be beyond foolish to tell Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak about the true fate of their friend at the war's close, for fear of opening old wounds and rekindling dying hatred. So when Yzak and Dearka returned to work in the PLANTs and Athrun left to be Cagalli's bodyguard, Nicol quietly went to live with Kira, Lacus, Murrue, and Andrew at Reverend Malchio's orphanage. Whenever anyone stopped by, Nicol was nowhere to be found, save one time.

At Lacus' invitation, an extremely confused Mr. and Mrs. Amalfi traveled from the PLANTs to ORB. Their meeting with Kira was short and somewhat strained, but he quickly led them to a room where a piano was playing softly, and vanished as the two adults ran into the room and collapsed in joyful tears as they found their son alive and well, rushing to embrace what they thought they had lost forever.

To them, it was a small price that Nicol stayed at the orphanage instead of returning home. His anonymity was far more important to his family than the time it took for them to visit him, which they did quite often.

Deep down, both Kira and Nicol knew that Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak would have to be told about Nicol's survival. But it was put off again and again. In two years, the peace in ORB soothed hearts like the sweetest dream from which no one ever wants to wake.

But as Kira, Nicol, and Lacus stared into the night sky that shone with exploding nuclear missiles, they glanced at each other and knew it could be put off no longer. Their chance came when Cagalli told them that Athrun was planning a visit to the PLANTs, and that she had gotten out of the Chairman that his bodyguards would be none other than Dearka and Yzak themselves.

When they heard the news, Kira turned to Nicol with a grin. "I have a plan."

* * *

"If you have the ability to make a difference, why not put it to use?"

Athrun regarded Yzak's words gravely, and turned back to the gravestone which bore the name of a dear friend. Solemn silence replaced their serious conversation. Yzak, Dearka, and Athrun all knew that this gravestone and the many others in the cemetery would soon have many, many more companions.

What brought them out of their reverie was the sound of footsteps running on grass in their direction. Three heads turned in unison to see Kira Yamato jogging up to them.

When he stopped in front of them, he was not even out of breath. The other Coordinators studied him with confusion. "Kira...?"

Kira glanced at the gravestone and turned away, looking extremely guilty and upset. "I'm sorry.. never mind, I'll tell you later," he said softly. Inside, he was grinning. This should lead them right into his plan.

"It's fine," Dearka said reassuringly. "What's up?"

Still playing hesitant, Kira said, "I have... a gift, I guess... for all three of you." Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka looked surprised and curious. "But maybe I should show you later..." Kira trailed off, giving Nicol's gravestone another guilty glance.

"Kira, it's fine," Athrun said, more firmly than Dearka. "So, what's this gift of yours?"

"A surprise," Kira said. "but if you insist... come on." he turned and walked towards the entrance to the cemetery. Sharing another brief curious glance, his three friends followed behind.

At the entrance, Kira fell in step with Yzak, Athrun, and Dearka, but led the way to the White Symphony Theater, which was strangely deserted.

When Yzak commented, all Kira said was, "Amazing Lacus can still do stuff like that."

At the doors, Kira suddenly stopped. "Well," he said, "I know you're going to like this gift. I'll see you later."

"Hold on. Aren't you coming, too?" Yzak asked.

Kira shook his head. "It's not _my _gift, it's yours. And I think my absence would make this gift better. You'll know why soon; consider it a bonus gift," he said cheerfully.

"What do you mean?" Athrun asked.

"Like I said, You'll know why soon enough," Kira replied. "Just go in," he called as he walked out of the Theater.

The moment the door shut, a piano began to play.

Curiosity piqued again, the three ZAFT veterans headed for the inner theater, listening intently to the music. Some of the notes and chords seemed vaguely familiar, like parts of a sweet, sensitive, long-lost song. But right as they reached the doors entering the auditorium, a familiar chain of notes climbing up the scale made them remember with perfect clarity the song they were listening to.

Nicol's song.

Hardly daring to believe or breathe, the three raced to the stage, arriving just as the familiar finale began to play, and the dark red and gold-trimmed curtain obscuring the pianist began to rise.

Time seemed to slow. Brown shoes and tan pants were the first things revealed, sitting next to the slender black legs of the piano. Hardly daring to breathe, Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak watched as a brown shirt appeared with thin delicate fingers dancing on the piano keys, and as familiar wavy lengths of green hair shrouded the face from view.

As Nicol played the last key, with the plink of the index finger, time resumed its normal pace. Now, his three teammates were breathing heavily, trying to comprehend the sight before them.

Nicol opened his warm brown eyes and turned to his three-man audience, his eternally gentle, unique smile on his face. And in unison, his three-man audience went from gaping to beaming with happiness, and for the first time since before the Blitz incident, Athrun called out his friend's name with joy.

"Nicol!"

* * *

Aww.....

I ended it there for a reason. Anything else would have been drag-on.

I think I did horrible with Kira and Nicol talking on the Archangel, because Nicol has so little character development that I had very little to go by. It would be much easier with Dearka or Yzak because they would yell.

Tell me how I did, because dialogue is not my strong point! Or not. Bye! --Blue.


End file.
